towing info
Submitted by collin g wood on Fri, 2012-01-20 20:27
hi all, my wife just got a new work vehicle that we have full use of with fuel etc supplied, we just had a tow bar fitted and realised it only has a down force load rating of 80kg although it has a towing capacity of 2000kg, I checked the down force of the boat which is 130 kg, I can move the axle forward to reduce the down weight but was wondering if it is safe to do so and what effects it would have on towing? any help would be appreciated thanks.
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
what type/model of car is it?
what type/model of car is it? and what size/ weight is your boat?
sometimes just moving as much of your gear as possible to the stern of the boat can help with the down force weight, but then you can be subject to the trailer swaying when towing.
strike_zone
Posts: 403
Date Joined: 09/09/10
yes you can move it
it will lighten the load on the tow bar its really just a trial and error type thing you just move it some and take it for a drive and see how it handles you can try moving weight in the boat but you would need a hell of a lot to do it and then you got to move it again when the boat is in the water m oving the axle is really the only practical way
Travisd
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 07/05/11
No harm in trying
80kg's sound like quite a lot of downward force. I have a 2000kg boat with about 40kg downward weight. I can pick it off the towbar by hand but still use the jockey as it's easier. Just went through this whole exercise moving the carriage.. take the boat off at the ramp.. and use rachet straps rather than a blunt 4lb gimpy hammer- so that when you miss what your hitting you dont crush the end of your finger. Rachet straps and wd40 make this easy. Mark both sides of your carriage 1 inch marks where it slides along.. that way you'll know straight away how much an inch will decrease the downward weight.
Use the CRC / WD40 on all the bolts a few days before to loosen then but make sure you retighten everything after a few trips as they may loosen up again -
Rem: you want to be able to lift your boat off by hand.. even 40kg's is alot
hope it helps
Baron Sportsman
Just the depth that Varies
collin g wood
Posts: 313
Date Joined: 18/04/11
thanks fella's, i remember
thanks fella's, i remember now my oldmans 18" fiberglass boat was very light up front, so i'll move the axle forward and see how it goes.
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
Just remember you dont want
Just remember you dont want too little TW otherwise your boat will possibly sway. From memory best towing was about 10% of the gross. I know thats a huge 200kgs but thats what they say. Maybe thats not correct for larger loads ?
When i first got my boat it use to sway really badly because of not enough TW but now with a permanenent move of the extra fuel its all good.
Cheers